Chad Johnson, Meet Jerome Simpson

The Cincinnati Bengals are making it crystal clear that they are ready to move on without Chad Johnson. In a year when they have many needs on defense, they used the 46th pick in the NFL draft on wide received Jerome Simpson from Coastal Carolina University.

Losing Chris Henry, the team's top longball threat, was a problem, but the loss of Chad would decimate a formerly outstanding wide receiver group. So Mike and Marvin decided to grab this young player in round two -- the same round Chad was selected in in 2002.

Mike and Marvin continue to make a very clear statement to Chad. Whether it turns out to be in the best interests of the team remains to be seen.

Keith Rivers Joins Questionable Bengals LB Corps

So, it was a linebacker -- Keith Rivers from USC. Hard to argue with any blue-chip caliber pick who can help the front seven on defense.

He goes into camp competing for playing time against these other linebackers on the Bengals roster:

Darryl Blackstock (free agent from Arizona), Ahmad Brooks, Eric Henderson, Rashad Jeanty, Brandon Johnson, Dhani Jones, Roy Manning, Jim Maxwell, Corey Mays, David Pollack and Anthony Schlegel.

It's not a star-studded cast by any means, so Rivers has the potential to come in and be a starter, if not a standout. If the season started tomorrow, you'd guess that Brooks would start in the middle, with Jones and Jeanty on the outside.

Next for the Bengals? Spot has always believed in the "take the best player available" concept, regardless of position. You can reach for someone to fill what you perceive is a need, but if your scouting is doing its job, you'll build quality depth by taking the best available player, regardless of position.

Bengals: OK, so now what?

The Cincinnati Bengals are on the clock at number 9, and they have watched the defensive down linemen they coveted -- Glenn Dorsey, Sedric Ellis and Derrick Harvey -- go in the picks immediately ahead of them. How about running back?

In Chad Johnson, be careful what you wish for

It's National Football League draft day, which means Spot has found a spot near the television to follow all of the "action." This year, my assistant will get a lot less sleep between first-round picks because each team has only 10 minutes to decide. Drafts have lost a lot of their pace in recent years because the first rounds have lasted longer than the Pleistocene epoch.

Several teams have been asking the Cincinnati Bengals about Chad Johnson, who has completely lost his mind since the end of last season. One report today said the Redskins called the Bengals last night and asked what it would take to get Chad. This was after the Bengals said no to a first-round pick this year and possibly another one next year. According to reports, the Bengals said they are not interested in trading Chad.

Along with the Redskins, their NFC East rivals in Dallas and Philadelphia have reportedly been interested in acquiring Ocho Stinko. The sports talk show hosts in the Dallas area have been openly speculating about what it would be like to have Chad and Terrell Owens on the same team.

Spot's advice: Be careful what you wish for. Chad Johnson has a personality that is naturally made for a future career in the media, and until the past eight months, he's been the toast of the town in Cincinnati for most of his career. But one thing has been true all along will remain true -- Chad is most interested in what is good for Chad. When Coach Marvin Lewis has forbidden him from his post-TD celebrations, he pouts, goes into a funk and withdraws. Success for the team is not as important as success for Chad, and that is not going to change if Chad changes teams. The bloom will be off the rose in Irving, Philadelphia, D.C. -- or wherever else Chad may land -- once he gets a penalty for celebrating after a TD and is reprimanded by a coach.

Spot's advice for the Bengals: TRADE CHAD! Turning down two first round picks doesn't make much sense. Mike Brown and Marvin Lewis are scoring lots of points with fans on Bengals blogs for not giving in to Chad, but those points don't translate to success on the field. Spot thinks the Bengals will wait until after June 1, when the $8.03-million salary cap hit the Bengals will take can be spread over two seasons instead of one.